Olives

Though they may seem bougie, olives are actually delicious. The salty brine, tender flesh and sweet flavor are the perfect compliment to any drink.



While I tend to refrain from martinis, mainly because I'm not my grandfather, I understand the appeal. Especially if the olives are stuffed. Olives stuffed with goat cheese or jalapenos in alcohol hit every spot in the best of ways.


Also, olive bars at fancy grocery stores are great to grab a mid-shopping snack. And no one ever seems to notice.

Wiffleball '79

What's the best movie of all time? The Sandlot or Wet Hot American Summer? Both toy with adolescent sexuality and harmless recreational drug use. Both play by the same rules of humor and bittersweet romance caked in nostalgia. Both envision a childhood that we'd like to imagine existed but never actually did.

TRICK QUESTION. The best movie of all time is Rudy. Case closed.

Anyway, this video is like the first two, but not the third.



One time I played baseball with a tennis ball but we wrapped it in duct tape so it wouldn't fly as far. Not the same.

[h/t Deadspin]

Hammocks

There are lots of places to lay your head in life. None is better than a hammock. When you look back on your youth from your deathbed, you should see summers full of lemonade and hammocks. We'll save lemonade for a later date. Today, we'll talk about hammocks.

Some people will tell you that the hammocks that hangs between metal poles are the best (spreader-bar hammocks, they're called). That's bullshit. Those people are wrong. When you lie in a hammock you want to pretend that you are a larva in a cocoon or a mole in the ground or a bump on a log. Not a pre-fab robot in your own back yard.



Others will tell you that the hammocks with the wood slats at the head and foot are the best, because they stretch out and allow for multiple people and/or large bears to relax at the same time.



But, unfortunately, you are not a bear. (No offense to the sexual subset.) Yes, if you're five years old you and your siblings/cousins/best friends can crowd on them, flip them and play games. But now you're an adult. Get a good hammock made out of cotton or nylon, hang it between two trees or the posts of your porch/fire escape, sit in it, read a book, takes naps and drink some lemonade. Or, a shandy (more discussion of shandies yet to come).



And don't bring back a hammock from that semester you spent in Costa Rica. Yes, we know that you got to meet the lady who made it by her own hands. We're in awe of how cultured you are.

Or, if you do get one of those, please don't tell us about it. No one cares. We're very glad you enjoyed your vacation. We took a lovely trip to Ohio last summer, we can show you our souvenirs as well. The apple butter is lovely. Getting a hammock that is also a story is best reserved for grand-mothers and vegans.

Living

Blog number one:

Living. Do it. Do it up.



When it's summer, as it is now, there are three B's to happiness: beers, boomboxes and barbeques. Nothing else will make you feel good. It's a recipe for success every time.